Representatives of 12 countries have been working round the clock to coordinate the evacuation of their citizens from violence-torn Libya from a small office at the British High Commission in Ta’ Xbiex.

The Non-Combatant Evacuation Operation Coordination Cell (NEOCC) comprises representatives from the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, the US, Malta, Canada, Australia, Ireland and Hungary. Over the past eight days they have managed to organise the evacuation of around 4,000 people from Libya.

The NEOCC members work together with their respective foreign and defence ministries to use both military and civilian assets to get people out of the North African country.

Those working on the team say that being able to pool their resources has made the rescue effort much more successful.

“The advantage of having us all together is that we can maximise that effort. We have a much broader understanding of the situation in the country because we are all sharing the information we are receiving,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Craig Sutherland, the UK Liaison officer on the NEOCC team.

“We have a clearer understanding of where those people at risk across the country are located and we can start focusing on those assets which each of the nations has provided to ensure we get people out as quickly as possible, getting them to safety in essence and trying to preserve life.”

The NEOCC is not involved in humanitarian work, but focuses purely on getting those who want to leave Libya onto boats or planes out of the country as quickly and safely as possible.

So far at least three international navy ships and more than a dozen military aircraft have been used to evacuate people, along with several civilian chartered ships and planes.

If capacity allows, the NEOCC-organised rescue missions are also bringing citizens of other nations, including Thais and Filipinos.

“It’s been tough but I must say that it’s been a satisfaction for all of us and for me personally, knowing that so many people have managed to actually be evacuated from Libya,” said Major Stefan Camilleri, the Maltese liaison officer.

The cell was set up after a similar operation during the 2006 troubles in Lebanon proved to be a resounding success. After this, the NEO coordination group began meeting as a forum every six months in order to prepare for situations such as the one in Libya.

At the height of the evacuation efforts, some 30 people were working in the group in Malta. Since many foreign nationals have already been rescued, those working on the project are down to 20.

Australian Colonel John Hutcheson said:  “We’ve had fantastic support from the Maltese government, not just in being able to host and looking after the forces here in Malta, but also the ability to provide us with information about what it’s like to be at Tripoli airport, what it’s like to be at Benghazi port and so on, and allowing us to to build a better picture of what we’re working with.”